California is America's most fecund cluster of entrepreneurs and innovators, but recently it has suffered a drought of financial irrigation. Since 2005, the amount of venture capital under management has fallen by 60 percent, and so the role of watering the best ideas in Silicon Valley and beyond has fallen to another class of investors: Angels.
As venture capital faltered, the number of Angel investor groups has more than doubled in the last six years. The reason is simple. Like nature, capitalism abhors a vacuum, and Angels have been eager and able to capture the early stage space abandoned by venture capitalists. As entrepreneurs seek initial funding for their extraordinary ideas, they've found the best way to get their technology to market is to seek out Angel Groups for early stage capital before they turn to larger venture capital firms who typically come in at higher thresholds of investment.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Who Saved Silicon Valley? Angels, Of Course - Allan May - Business - The Atlantic
